Omron Mobile Robot Moves 550-pound Payloads

Global automation solutions company Omron Automation Americas has launched its latest addition to the LD Series of autonomous mobile robots. Known as the LD-250, this new robot carries payloads of up to 250kg (551 pounds) and has a sturdy structure that is optimized for voluminous packaging materials that are bulky as well as heavy.

Together with Omron’s powerful Fleet Manager, the LD-250 helps manufacturers construct a more flexible and optimized autonomous material transport system, the company said, as Fleet Manager now enables the control of multiple mobile robots with different payloads through a single system. The system can manage traffic, battery charging requirements and vehicle navigation for a diverse fleet of up to 100 robots.

Factories worldwide are seeking better ways to increase the productivity and profitability of high-mix production amid a decreasing workforce in industrialized nations and rising labor costs in emerging countries. The Omron LD mobile robots can avoid people and obstacles while automatically calculating the best routes to transport material, thereby optimizing materials transport requirements while reducing labor requirements.

In addition to its extra-sturdy structure that carries unwieldy items traditionally transported in human-operated carts, the LD-250 is highly customizable with special conveyor tops, courier systems and adaptive material handling mechanics, the company said. It also takes advantage of several Omron technologies that improve performance, such as the High Accuracy Positioning System (HAPS), side lasers and the Acuity vision localization technology.

 The integration of the LD-250 with the Omron Series Collaborative Robot will open a new market for heavy-duty mobile manipulators that can handle manipulation tasks along with material transport. For more information, visit Omron’s mobile robot product page.